


Oh Captain, My Captain

by Cerententia



Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Gen, Monkey D. Luffy's funeral, another one of those 'what if Luffy died' fics, another one of those 'what if Zoro took over as captain' fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 09:26:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13877991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cerententia/pseuds/Cerententia
Summary: Hey wow it's been a while;; imagine if I'd been able to write an entire fic in the time that it's been. Unfortunately I just don't have it in me, so here's a crappy summary!!- Post-Doflamingo- Blackbeard went after Sabo b/c Mera Mera fruit (and also cause he’s a massive DICK)- Also the marines were after him- Eventually Sabo was cornered, Blackbeard on one side and the marines on the other- The marines were like HEY SHICHIBUKAI NEWBIE, WE’LL BE TAKING THIS GUY FOR PUBLIC EXECUTION and Blackbeard was like lol k I’ll get his body later- Guess what was all over the news- Guess who saw it- GUESS WHO WENT TO SAVE SABO BUT THIS TIME WITH HIS CREW AND SUCCEEDED!- But also died in the process





	Oh Captain, My Captain

    The day of Luffy’s funeral, Nami sent out a mass call via Den Den Mushi. She had toyed with the idea of including visual Den Den Mushi’s, but in the end decided that she—and the rest of the crew—wanted, _needed_ , to keep at least some privacy for themselves to mourn in. Besides, the navigator knew that the more despicable breed of people would be more than happy to keep the footage and make a mockery of it, and that was something she would never allow. 

    Due to the ever-present pursuit of the marines, the Straw Hats had elected to not land on an island, instead anchoring at a random location on open water. It wasn’t like it mattered either way. Their captain was being given a burial at sea, fitting of a true pirate; certainly, it was fitting for the Pirate King. Although there were no lifeboats aboard the _Sunny,_ Franky had announced that he’d have no problem building one, and everyone knew it was true. However, at the backs of their minds the crew knew that there was an alternate solution, but it still came as a surprise when it was Usopp who voiced it.

    “No, Franky,” the sniper had said grimly, eyes rimmed with red. “We’ll send him out in _Merry._ It’s…it’s only fitting.”

    The cyborg nodded wordlessly.

    Hours later, the call went out; Foosha Village on Dawn Island, Shimotsuki Village in East Blue, Cocoyasi Village on the Conomi Islands, Syrup Village on the Gecko Islands, the floating restaurant Baratie, Alabasta Kingdom, the city of Water 7, Dressrossa, a lone lighthouse on the Grand Line. There was no way to reach Fishman Island, but Nami hoped they might be able to feel it somehow. She knew it was only wishful thinking.

    Clutching the Den Den Mushi tightly, Nami held her breath. She’d offered the snail phone to Zoro first, but he had simply shaken his head, pushing it back towards her. It was clear he thought she could do the job, and she’d be damned before she let him down. The strength she drew on wasn’t that of a pirate; it was the strength of a little girl who refused to cry, who continued to fight, even as her world was torn down around her. And then she spoke, words like iron.

    “This is the _Thousand Sunny,_ and we are the Straw Hat Pirates. Today, our captain sets sail on his final adventure.”

    All over the world, people listened.

    “Monkey D. Luffy is dead.”

    Where the _Thousand Sunny_ rested, rocked gently by the waves, there was silence, but it was sharp and painful as broken glass. Nami was glad that they couldn’t hear the gasps, the cries, the stifled screams. She wasn’t sure if she could have continued if they had.

    “But,” and her voice was fierce and angry and raw with emotions that she didn’t have to hide, not in front of her crew, not when they were the only ones who understood, “ _But,_ that does not mean that his will is dead! It is _not,_ not as long as we’re still breathing, and Luffy’s dream is still alive!”

    And now her voice was low and dangerous, aimed at the ones she knew were eavesdropping because that’s what they did, intruding where they were not welcome and trying to crush the spirits of those who dared to make their own paths. “So you can try and stop us, stop _him,_ but you’ve already failed. Monkey D. Luffy _will_ be the Pirate King, and we will tear this world apart if that’s what it takes; we would have died for our dreams, but we will live for his, and you will _never_ take that from us!”

    Silence met her again, but this time it was full of approval and intense satisfaction, like that of a beast that knows it is allowed to run free.

    “I am Nami, cat-thief extraordinaire, and I’m also the best damn navigator these oceans have ever seen. For myself, I’ll map the world; for my captain, I _will_ find One Piece.” 

    Possessed by a sudden impulse, Nami handed the Den Den Mushi to the crew member on her right.

    “Ahem… My name is Sanji, more famously known as Blackleg. If anyone dares to get in Nami-san— _or_ my captain’s—way, I’ll do a hell of a lot more than kick your teeth in.”

    Following Nami’s lead, the cook passed it on.

    “Listen up—I’m not scared anymore! Not of the marines or the Shichibukai or anyone! And maybe I'm lying, but I’m telling the _truth_ when I say that nothing can make me abandon my captain’s dream!” His voice shook, with fear and with sadness and a rumbling of anger. 

    A hand delicately plucked the snail from Usopp’s grip before he could crush the Den Den Mushi.

    “Hello. This is Nico Robin, although I have been called the Devil’s Child since a young age. There are people in this world who hold the power to erase an entire age of history, but should those people try to erase _this_ age…I will show you a true devil.”

    Passing it on, a metal chest expanded before pressing out a booming declaration.

    “I’m the shipwright who built the ship that’s gonna carry the Pirate King all the way to One Piece! Hit us with your worst shot and we’ll shoot you down! _Ow!_ ”

    A bony _click_ on shell as the next member accepted the snail.

    “I suppose most of you know me as the Soul King, but I was originally a member of the Rumba Pirates. I died before I could complete my first captain’s dream, but I came back to life and joined the Straw Hats. Kill me once, shame on you; kill me twice, shame on me!”

    There was a slightly longer silence as the Den Den Mushi made its way to Nami’s left.

    “My name is Tony Tony Chopper—it was given to me by the best doctor _ever_ , but I’ll become even better, and then it won’t matter how bad you hurt my friends ‘cause I’ll heal them!” The youngest member’s voice trembled slightly as tears welled in his eyes. “I’ll heal them no matter what! Also, I’m a _reindeer_!”

    Staring hard at the floor and holding his tears back through sheer force of will, Chopper held the snail phone up towards Zoro. Nami looked at the swordsman, not sure if he would take it, but after a few moments the first recruit of the Straw Hats gripped the Den Den Mushi and raised it to his mouth.

    “I’m Roronoa Zoro. I’m going to be the World’s Greatest Swordsman, and I’ll make sure my crew gets to One Piece. Get in our way. I dare you.”

    Silence fell as his words settled over the others. _My crew._ A few eyes drifted towards the swordsman and a few members shifted in acknowledgment of his claim. Luffy had trusted his judgment on several occasions, and they trusted Luffy; now, they would put their trust in Zoro.

    After Franky had readied the _Mini Merry_ , Usopp and Chopper (in his heavy point) had carefully placed their captain in the craft. Zoro and Nami had wrapped his body in the Straw Hat Jolly Roger beforehand, the green-haired man removing their namesake from his ruffled black hair. He had not let go of it since. The little boat bobbed on the sea, bumping gently against the _Thousand Sunny._ As all the crew members stood back, Sanji stepped forward, his leg glowing like a sunset. Small flames licked out as he placed his foot against the _Mini Merry_ , and then with a controlled but powerful shove the burial vessel was pushed out to sea with a burst of flames. Fire quickly spread across the seasoned wood, climbing the figurehead and dancing along the curled horns.

    The sight brought a strange sense of comfort to the remaining Straw Hats, and before Nami realized it she whispered, “Take care of him, Ace.”

    The flames rose higher as if in response, throwing sparks that winked and burned brightly enough to sear the memory into their retinas.

    Before the small ship was 200 feet out, a voice rose softly in song.

 _“Goodbye to my loved ones,_  
         _I say, farewell to my friends,_  
         _for it seems that my time here  
        _ _has come to an end.”_

    The words were slow, the tune wistful. None of them had known that Robin could sing—she’d always opted to simply listen whenever Brook struck up Bink’s Sake—but nobody was surprised.

 _“Through the light and the shadows_  
         _we have stood side by side,_  
         _and now, still together,  
        _ _in your mem’ries we’ll bide._

 _“I won’t ask you to follow  
        _ _so please—”_

    Suddenly, the woman’s voice cracked. It was a small break, but they all felt it in their hearts. Heads bowed, eye shut tightly, hands clenched.

    Strings hummed, and the low voice of Brook’s viola crept in to fill the break. He did not know the song, but his music did, and gradually breath was brought back to the standing pirates. With new support, Robin continued.

 _“So please, don’t ask me to stay;_  
          _my heart lies with you  
_ _but I must go my own way._

 _Is it true beyond the sky_  
          _there’s a place that’s brighter, less cold?_  
          _Is it more blue that the ocean?  
        _ _Oh, I guess it’s time that I know.”_

    Robin’s voice and Brook’s wordless accompaniment twined and flowed together like wind, like the ocean. It captured the soul.

 _“I won’t beg you not cry;_  
         _I would just like to say_  
         _that my heart stays with you  
        _ _though I’ve gone my own way._

 _I won’t ask that you follow_  
         _so please, don’t ask that I wait._  
         _Have faith we’ll meet again;  
        _ _have faith in our fate.”_

    By now the burning craft was a red blur in the distance; a setting sun that would never rise again.

    Robin cried openly, and Brook’s viola trailed off as the skeleton rested a delicate hand on her shoulder, empty sockets seeming hollower than usual. Tears flowed freely from Nami and Franky, proudly over her cheeks and solemnly down his. Chopper was swallowing his sobs as best he could, hiccupping breaths like water over rocks, and Usopp was crying like he’d never cried before. It was heavy and utterly silent, as though he was gathering all his pain and hoarding it tightly inside for some disastrous unleashing; it was like watching a squall or a monsoon building in the distance and knowing that eventually, it was going to hit _something._ Sanji, at first, had tried to hold himself together until a later time, tried to remain steady for Nami, but now he stood, face obscured and fingers digging against the bridge of his nose, jaw grinding itself up. He’d bitten through his cigarette, and the glowing end sat between his boots like a fallen star.

    Zoro had seemed to become a statue since the moment his captain fell with a smile on his face, hard and cold and immovable. It was like something in him had shut down, but now silver threads caught the light, dripped from his chin. It looked as though his soul was bleeding out in thin streams.

    They stayed there until it was dark. They stayed there longer. They stayed until the ocean slowly, gently, drifted them away.

**Author's Note:**

> The song that Robin sings is one she picked up on her travels. I wrote it while I was on break at work. Unfortunately I have no real tune for it, but feel free to listen to this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jos0ctHf5IQ !


End file.
